SAS systems are capable of using “smart” cabling in order to speed up the configuration of individual physical links (PHYs). Smart cabling comprises any form of cabling that includes a signaling interface for SAS and that also includes a cable management interface. For example, lengths of smart cabling can include a management interface with an integrated memory. The integrated memory can describe how to configure a SAS PHY to properly utilize the cable. The integrated memory can describe a link rate for the cable, physical features of the cable (e.g., whether the cable is a passive cable that is not powered for communications, whether the cable is an active cable that should be powered for communications, whether the cable is optical, etc.), etc.